I'm so excited!

I'm going to California, my favorite state.

Free Scoop Night--Mission Accomplished

I ran over to Baskin Robbins to partake of Free Scoop Night as my pre dinner snack. I scored one coffee ice cream cone, and two ice cream cake samples:strawberry/vanilla and a mint chocolate chip/chocolate. I'm saving my mint chocolate sample for an after dinner snack. I had forgotten how good the their ice cream cake was. Baskin Robbins uses real cake not the dense brownie Ben & Jerry's uses and none of that Carvel crunchies posing as "cake" business.

Preppy Paint Cans

My good friend Kristen was kind enough to buy me a bountiful supply of quart sized paint cans from Home Depot last winter and I've been totally obsessed with using my nifty Xyron 510 sticker machine to jazz up paint cans with grosgrain ribbons. I've completed eight paint cans so far and I'm gunning to decorate even more, but I've run out of supplies. I'm out of ribbon, out of adhesive for my machine, but I still have twelve paint cans.

Reasons why paint cans are totally awesome:
1. Paint cans are inexpensive at around a dollar a piece.
2. Paint cans serve as excellent vases because they feature a coated rustproof interior suitable for paint.
3. Paint cans are durable and come with a super tight lid. They keep cookies fresh and are approved by the USPS for shipping anything not liquid.
4. Paint cans are easy to decorating using modge podge, glue or just tape because the cylinders have smooth surfaces. All you need is an appropriately sized rectangle of paper to cover the exterior.
5. Industrial chic for cheap...what's not to love?

Ways to decorate a paint can:
1. Don't decorate...no need to fuss with the nice shiny silver exterior.
2. Utilize your knowledge of geometry and cut a rectagular sheet of pretty paper with the following dimensions: width=the height of the paint can and length=pi times the diameter of the paint can. Glue or tape paper around the paint can...tah dah!
3. Run strips of ribbon (length=pi times the diameter of the paint can or you could just wrap the ribbon around the can) through a sticker maker to create ribbon stickers and adhere the ribbon stickers to the can in horizontal stripes. Grosgrain and other opaque ribbons work well for this project. To achieve the preppy look...use pink, green, polka dots and striped grosgrain ribbon...think "in the spirit of those grosgrain ribbon belts that are all the rage."

Ways to use a paint can:
1. Mailing receptacle (see above).
2. Pints work as pencil cups or small vases.
3. Use a Quart or a Gallon can for a gift basket...big ones come with a nifty handle as well.
4. Fill with paint.

Places to purchase paint cans:
1. Home Depot
2. containerstore.com even carries the itty bitty 8 oz paint can...like a little juice glass...how cute!
3. paint stores like the one on Newbury Street.

P.S. A special thanks to the lovely folks who gave me my sticker machine.
P.P.S. If you would like to give me a ride to Joanne's fabric...let me know. I've run out of ribbon and my usual supplier, Pearl, is getting out of the buy by the yard ribbon business.

BIG Cheez-Its

Thanks to Adam, I got to try the BIG Cheez-Its a few weeks ago because they were on sale. BIG Cheez-Its are far more delicious than regular Cheez-Its because the BIG ones are flakier and BIGGER. We got Steve a box for his birthday last week and the following is a reconstructed BIG Cheez-It conversation that ensued while we consumed Steve's birthday cake.

Kelly: [closely examining the BIG Cheez-It box] I can't find the disclaimer on the box about the photo of the Cheez-It. I can't believe the crackers are this big. It must be false advertising, but I can't find the disclaimer.
Ann: Maybe Steve should open the box of Cheez-Its and do a comparison.
Steve: [obligingly opens up the box and extracts a cracker and holds it up in front of the picture of the cracker...the real cracker practically covers the picture of the cracker and we conclude that the crackers are indeed quite BIG.]
Everyone: [Peals of laughter.] Ha Ha Ha!

Fried Chicken

Good old LJC is getting married and I love that she's serving picnic foods, such as fried chicken, at her wedding. Check out her charming page on the wedding details.

Free Scoop Night

Ben & Jerry's could be your practice run before hitting Baskin Robbin's Free Scoop Night on Wednesday, April 28 from 6-10pm. Expand your bellies and increase your tolerance for frozen dairy treats on Tuesday for another round on Wednesday. Baskin Robbins is across the street from work so take a wild guess where I'll be at quitting time on Wednesday.

The Airlines Will Have None Of It

According to today's WSJ, airlines have banned the Knee Defender despite the FAA's approval. The airlines reason that the Knee Defender damages the seats and is inconsiderate to people who would like to recline. Inconsiderate? I think not, the Knee Defender comes with a courtesy card.

Guest Blogger Adam

Adam will be starting his stint as "guest blogger." I've asked him to respect the rules of the blog which are:

1. things that plasticann would blog about
2. keep it mom friendly

With Adam blogging as well, hopefully the blog will stay current and won't fall by the wayside whenever I get too busy.

Baby Food

I spotted these "mini" distinctive Pepperidge Farm cookies yesterday and I couldn't resist purchasing them. You'll pay a higher price per ounce with the mini cookies, but they're so precious. They remind me of Amelia Bedelia and the time she made itty bitty hamburgers when she was instructed to make "baby food." Hilarious!

Tort Law

plasticmom is now studying tort law. I don't think I can keep up with her...she's too smaahht.

Easter Dinner

The Dority's graciously hosted an Easter dinner that included Adam, CadCowboy, Zerry and Zawrence. I made an asparagus tart from Martha Stewart FOOD that was very easy.
The Menu:

Pre Dinner Snack:
Ham Salad, Seafood Salad, Salmon Spread, Cheese & Crackers
Artichoke Ramekin with toasted bread
Asparagus Tart

Dinner:
Salad
Pork Loin
Mashed Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Asparagus and Oranges with a shallot sauce
Tapanade on Bread (laurel made the bread herself)

Dessert:
Orange Rum Cake, Ice Cream and Strawberries

Third Annual Easter Egg Hunt Highlights

1. Steve won the "Most Unusual Receptacle Award." He tucked in his shirt and carried his eggs in his shirt...very clever, but slightly odd.
2. At one point, Mark nearly trampled Steve.

Mark: 16
Steve: 12
Amy: 8
Other: 4

All 40 eggs are accounted for.

Good Old plasticmom

I called home last week and whined about my abysmal umbrellas situation. The torrential downpour coupled with gusty wind destroyed my umbrella. I was feeling quite sorry for myself and asked plasticmom to send me some umbrellas. plasticmom came through and I received a box of four umbrellas today in the mail including a cool folding umbrella featuring a vintage print. plasticmom found a stash of umbrellas from the 1980s while cleaning out a closet. (p.mom^2 tends to buy in bulk and stockpile nonperishables.)

Raising Wry Babies

Cultivate their appreciation for wry humor by clothing them in outfits from wrybaby. I like all of them, but I especially like the candid "I can't read" and the directions on how to lift a baby. Unfortunately, I can no longer wear snapsuit onesies...they're not professional enough for the office.

Fried Cheese

Adam and I checked out Dali last night to celebrate my recent standardized test taking. My favorite was Queso Rebozado con Miel, fried Spanish cheese. I caught our enthusiastic waiter singing along to the music. We didn't finish the sangria we ordered because our waiter erroneously estimated that a liter of sangria was 3.5 glasses...it's more like 4.5 glasses.

"Mentee"

I'm often tempted to use "mentee" to describe someone who is being mentored, but "mentee" is not an actual word. Mentor was the friend Odysseus entrusted to educate his son, Telemachus. This conundrum came up at work a few years ago. How does one refer to the person you are mentoring? Once we discovered mentee wasn't a word, we learned that Telemachus was the original "one who is being mentored." However, "Telemachus" as a substitute for "one who is being mentored" never quite took off as part of our office lexicon.

A homage to a variant of multiculturalism...gluttony

Steve sent me this review of International Buffet. I'm repulsed, yet oddly attracted to the lifestyles of pudgy midriff baring low rider jeans wearing youths and their quest for chicken fingers...minus the unfortunate midriffs baring tops that only accentuate pudginess.

Adam's Cardinal Rules For Fire & Ice (ACRFF&I)

Learn from Adam's recent experience at Fire & Ice. Avoid indigestion and sleeplessness by eating reasonable amounts of food and take note of Adam's Cardinal Rules. I used all three rules for my visit to Fire & Ice and I can personally vouch for them...they're excellent.

ACRFF&I #1: Instead of creating a heaping tower of Babel with one bowl, feel free to take two bowls up to the grill. The F&I staff may say "one bowl," but they never say, "don't take two bowls." Vegetables, like mushrooms, tend to cook down so one bowl won't yield enough cooked food. If you're "cute" like me, try sweetly explaining to the grill staff, "I didn't want to drop my vegetables on the floor so I used two bowls" and curry favor while flouting the implied social norms regarding the one bowl system. However, don't take two heaping bowls up to the grill and try explaining it away because that just looks gluttonous and you'll lose all credibility.

ACRFF&I #2: Related to "two bowl" system is the "two trip" system. Most people are unable to simultaneously carry three bowls (two bowls of food plus one bowl of sauce) because most folks only have two hands. First, drop off your two bowls of food at the grill. Then head over to the sauce station while your food is cooking and fill up your sauce bowl. To avoid flavorless food, be sure to fill your sauce bowl to the brim.

ACRFF&I #3: Give the following sauce combo whirl: 1/3 Pineapple Curry + 2/3 Teriyaki Sauce. Here's another inside tip from Adam, the grill masters keep soy sauce, hot sauce and other condiments behind the grill...utilize those extra condiments to cut the sweetness from the sauces.

Food Photos: 365 Days

A man who's taking photos of everything he eats this year...snacks, drinks, cereal, bananas...everything. I feel inspired. I'm going to start taking pictures of everything I eat before the GMAT on Monday. My dear friend Kristen brought me two huge bags of food so I've got lots to eat and not much time before the exam to eat it all.

The Suits

We just moved back to Kendall Square into that "salmon" colored building near the bridge. My friend Marc used to work in this building and he cringed whenever someone called his building "pink." Perhaps he had political ideology issues with the word "pink," but I think "pink" was just to girly for Marc. There are lots of folks in our new building who wear business suits. Steve refers to them as "the suits." We think "the suits" work for the British Consulate located in our building because some of "the suits" have British accents. Steve has seen "the suits" smoke outside the building. I wonder if they have a tea lady that comes around twice a day. Serena, Marc's missus, worked at a law firm in Australia that had a tea lady who came around twice a day with tea and biscuits. More importantly, I wonder if their tea lady has diplomatic immunity and parks her car willy nilly.

The tale of pgg...a not so sad story about a very old man

I didn't know plasticgreatgramps, "pgg," all that well given he's always living in the tropical island of my ancestors, but the tales of pgg's scampish ways are legendary. pgg recently passed away at the ripe old age of 94, succumbing to the usual culprit...cancer. p.mom^2, always one to chide her pater familias, blamed his cancer on his life of drinking, smoking and gambling...let that be a lesson for us all. plasticmom chortled and pointed out the glaring weakness in p.mom^2's argument; most people succumb to something before they're 94 even if they don't smoke, drink and gamble every waking moment. Then plasticmom and p.mom^2 laughed and laughed and laughed...not at pgg's recent demise, but at the irony of pgg's longevity.

"Modern And Stylish"

Those were the very words plasticmom used to describe her new N-Gen bottle so there you have it folks, plasticmom is quite pleased with the N-Gen. That should be endorsement enough because we all know plasticmom is a bit of a design savant with her radar like ability to hone in on hip design trends and her natural enthusiasm for form, style and function. plasticmom also predicts that plasticmom^2 or "p.mom^2", mom to the second power, will smile upon the N-Gen. p.mom^2 finds the attached screw cap model of the original Nalgenes to be irritatingly floppy so p.mom^2 might enjoy the N-Gen with its fully detachable cap. Be hip like plasticmom...go get a N-Gen of your own!

Dispatches from Sunny California:

Zreg reports on SF's homeless population's geography prowess:

This morning, I was walking along the Embarcadero (the road that goes along the waterfront) wearing my Brown sweatshirt. I passed two bums sitting on a bench. After I went by, one of them shouted, "Hey, isn't Brown in Providence, RI?" It's good to see that Brown is well-known amongst bums.

Followed by Steve's quip:

I thought your story was going to end with "I graduated there" or "I got my Ph.D. there" or "I was tenured there."

Confessing My Furniture Commitment Phobia

For years, I've been reluctant to acquire any furniture that wasn't "disposable." Before purchasing a Kitchenaid mixer, I mentally performed a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the mixer would be "worth" the extra poundage. I likened the 25 plus pound kitchen appliance to a "small piece of furniture" and my coworker Steve had to help me get the cumbersome box home. Ironically, my aversion to acquiring large items, such as furniture, is offset by my absurd willingness to acquire and collect what Adam likes to call, "useless crap": books, scraps of paper, pieces of lint or random junk.

Most of the furniture my housemates and I share fall within the following categories: parental castoffs, gleaned off the streets prior to trash day and some combination of the first two categories. We've done a lot with relatively little and I like to think our home is pretty warm and hospitable. Our frequent houseguests don't seem to mind our decor given that they continue to request accommodations, but then again free lodging with mismatched decor is, after all, free.

Lately, the housemates and I have been echoing the following sentiment, "we want real furniture." Maybe it's because we're hitting our mid-twenties. Maybe it's because we've been working for a couple of years and life is no longer a post college experiment. I'm realizing that this is my life and I haven't purchased a major piece of furniture save the dresser I finally broke down and purchased after my wardrobe resided in boxes for months. We've been sitting on the same random couches we picked up off the street for years. Our dining room table, found in the basement of our house, is perpetually wobbly and I managed to strip off some of the paint when I accidentally spilled some peppermint extract. Pure peppermint extract is not only an excellent flavor additive, but is also a paint stripper.

We're not actually poor, but we've chosen to not buy furniture because we actually like our free stuff. We've also been blessed to find functional free stuff for our house. We have a "bed-couch" that's essentially a twin bed with big pillows on it. It's comfortable, not horrifically unsightly and our guests definitely appreciate sleeping on a real bed when they stay over. I'm so used to thinking in terms of not buying anything permanent because who knows when I'll be moving and do I really want to lug furniture back to California, it's almost unnerving for me to think about purchasing a couch. I'm puzzled why I'm seriously considering furniture when I've already been here for nearly four years and why the heck did I not simply buy something four years ago so we could have enjoyed it for longer. I guess I simply didn't care about furniture and I didn't actually want to own any.

All that said, I think this Ultralight Sleeper Couch would be perfect given my furniture commitment issues because it's "ultralight" and I could actually move it myself. My housemates are game, but we'll have to wait until we move into a new apartment next year. At this rate, it is highly unlikely I'll actually buy furniture because whenever I think of the hassle and cost, parsimony ends up winning my battle with apathy and I'm back to square one...a room with boxes.

Cautionary Note On Freeze Dried Fruit

Here's a tip (mostly for Adam's benefit) from one of my favorite blogs, good old "LJC." She does not recommend eating the freeze dried fruit in cereal straight out of the box. You should let the fruit soak up some milk and eat the cereal the way cereal was intended to be consumed...in a bowl with some milk.